


Nostalgia

by drap3tomania



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28694919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drap3tomania/pseuds/drap3tomania
Summary: In which Peter reflects on what he has and had lost.portportport





	Nostalgia

"Hey, Mr. Stark. It's me, Peter, again. It is day 362 since your funeral. I uh, I'm taking care of Morgan. Happy and Aunt May are dating. I wish you were here. I miss you. I don't know what to do without you. Some bad things happened, I was run over by a train. I'm all good now. I won. Rest easy..."

Peter threw his phone against the wall, watching it bounce off without a scratch. He threw his phone often, and the case he used was used to protecting it. Almost a year had gone by, and the pain in his heart didn't lessen.

He turned to the notebook on his bed. 

"Write down the good things you remember about him." His therapist had said.

Peter had. He had everything written down. There were diagrams of Iron Man suits, long drawn out stories and memories, sketches, business ideas, war plan ideas. He had a pressed rose petal from his funeral, the password to get into the Avenger's facility, and a series of letters. 

Peter liked things one could hold. Sure he texted Tony's number every day, but letters were solid. He wrote one every day. Sometimes the paper was tearstained, but the words were there. He wrote in a thick black fountain pen, the words curling around the paper like poetic spider webs. 

His phone buzzed with a text, and he reluctantly got up to check it. 

\----

Guy in the Chair: Peter you okay?

Boss of Guy in Chair: Yeah, Yeah. I just miss him.

Guy in the Chair: I know man. MJ and I are gonna get shakes tomorrow. Join us?

Boss of Guy in Chair: Can't. I'm meeting Harley later. Something about needing my help.

Guy in the Chair: Welp ok. But keep up like this and I steal your gf.

Boss of Guy in Chair: Hands off Ned. She's mine.

Guy in the Chair: Yeah yeah. Hang out with us later.

Boss of Guy in Chair: Will do.

\----

Peter turned off his phone and threw it onto his bed. Harley Keener had asked for his help with something, a memorial of sorts. Currently, he was the only human contact Peter could accept. He wished with all his heart Tony would be at his side, hand on his shoulder with the words, "You did well." 

All he felt was being a failure. 

His attention drifted back to the Notebook, and he shut it. Getting up, Peter turned off the lights and threw himself in bed. With the lights off and the steady hum of cars below, he cried himself to sleep having lost two fathers and an uncle in a single lifetime.

\--

Peter was on the subway when he got Harley's call.

"You on your way?"

"Yeah."

"Parker, chin up. It'll be okay."

Peter nodded before remembering it was a phone call. "Yeah."

Harley let out a small sigh on his end. "See you soon Peter." 

"Bye Harley," he responded. The older boy sounded so tired, so beaten down. Peter wished he knew his story.

Harley was a distant sibling. (Adopted, but still a sibling) He carried so much heartache in him, so much grief. Enough to rival Peter's own suffering. Keener was a mystery to him, a beautiful enigma waiting to be opened. 

He stepped off the subway and went to meet Harley. The older boy had a full diagram set up. The word NOSTALGIA was written at the top. 

"Tony loved acronyms. So I made him one. Never Omit Stark's Tech At Loss Given In Anarchy." 

"Wow." Peter whistled, almost in tears. "What does NOSTALGIA do?" 

"It's a memory device. You sit in this chair and put on this helmet, then it would show you what he'd do if he was still alive. It's like a 3D Mirror of Erised." 

"Y-you mean I can still hear his voice one more time? And feel his presence one more time? What-? How? You're-?" Peter stuttered. "Does it work?"

"Yeah. I tested it." 

"Can I?"

"Yeah. It's why I called you. Have a seat."

Peter sat down. He was shaking, his brain racking for ways to mentally prep himself. He took a steadying breath and pulled on the helmet. 

"T-turn it on." he stammered. 

"Just breathe. And will him into existence. I'll pull you out if it gets to be too much." Harley smiled at Peter. 

Peter nodded and closed his eyes.

\---

"Kid. Kid. Open your eyes." 

Peter's eyes flew open. "Mr. Stark! H-have you got my text messages? I missed you. I missed you." 

"Hey kid it's ok. I missed you too." Tony put his arm on Peter's shoulder. "It'll all be ok. Don't try to be me. Please. It'll kill you. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Peter nodded and hugged his mentor. "Please don't leave me. Please I don't wanna go. I don't want you to go."

"Peter it's ok. You've been through a lot. Death is a cruel lesson. Please don't cry. I messed up a lot. You can be better than me. I made Ultron and a whole bunch of other messed others had to clean up after me." He hugged him tightly. "Peter, I love you, but it's time to say goodbye."

He could only nod. "You did well, Tony."

\--

The hologram faded away as Peter realized his face was soaked with tears. He was shaking more than ever and barely noticed Harley taking the helmet off of him. 

"I'm at peace... He said it was ok. I didn't need to be him." He pressed his harm against his face, trying to steady his tears. Surprised, he felt Harley hugging him. 

"It's ok. Stark touched a lot of lives. He touched mine, yours, everyone's. he helped me when my dad when to 7-11 and never came back. He rebooted my lab and kept in touch. He helped when I had shut down, and PTSD..." Harley drew a breath, "I um, never was able to get over his death. I go into NOSTALGIA almost everyday."

Peter stared at the older, seemingly stronger, male. This 19-year-old boy was still a boy. And his brother. 

"Thank you for NOSTALGIA."


End file.
